Electrical heated iron



Oct... 20, 1936. s. A. DUVALL ELECTRICAL HEATED IRON Filed Dec. 30, 1952 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Fig.1

Oct. 20, 1936. s. A. DUVALL I ELECTRICAL HEATED IRON 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Dec. 30, 1952 Patented Oct. 20, 1936 UNITED STATES I 2.05am HECTBICAL mes-ran mos Stanley Alexander Duvall. Louisville, .37., acsignorofone-halftoLauraEBuillmLonis- VIMKI.

Application December a. 1m, Serial No. 040,005

4 Claims. (01. 219-25) My invention relates to electric smoothing irons and has for its object the production of an electrically heated hand iron and stand so arrang and so related that the cord carrying current for heating the iron shall terminate at the stand and the iron per se shall be cordless; and in which the iron is related to the stand by means of a plate and spring Jack connections so arranged that the iron need never be lifted but can be slid on and of! the said plate to engage'and disengage its terminal plugs with the spring jacks and to pass on and off of the object to be pressed. In attaining my objects I provide s. housing containing terminals for the energizing circuit, spring 16 jacks to receive plugs on the iron constituting terminals of the heating element resistors, and a thermostat mounted near the heel of the iron when the latter is on the stand. Carrying this housing and extending out therefrom .on the same side .as the spring Jacks is a" metal plate carrying an insulating sheet which may be of asbestos or any other suitable heat insulating material. One of the most important features of my invention is the sliding movement of the iron on and oil this plate and another the saving of electric current, and the elimination of sparking and flashing at the contacts, as well as the primary feature of the elimination of any cord to drag over the work, in the manner de- 0 scribed by my resting plate. The heat insulation of the plate is so arranged that its surface meets flush with the cloth wrappings of the ironing board and various other details of more or less importance to the. combination will" suillciently appear from the detailed specification hereinafter.

My invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which Fig. 1 is a side view of one end of an ironing 49 board showing the iron on the resting plate with the houslng partiy in section: I

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the parts shown in F18- Fig. 8 is a cross section on the line 3-4 of Fig. 2. looking in the direction of the arrows; Fig. 4 is a rear elevation of the housing and clamp for securing the apparatus to the board;

and

nections. in the housing and in the iron.

In the drawings and referring first to Figs. 1 and 2, B is an ironing board shown as covered with a suitable cloth. I represents a hand iron having heating plate 2 enclosing a heating elegs mentleonsistingofcoilsofresistancewireorthe' equivalent electrically, insulated. At the heel of the iron, above the heating plate, I provide a pair oi terminal plugs "a and lib for the heating elemen i 8 represents a housing composed of a metal 6 coverpla'te or bridge with a back end and front end I and 8 respectively of hard fiber or equivalent insulation. The sides and top of the cover plate are in one piece which may conveniently be of Monel metal of about No. 20 B 8: 8 gauge 10 secured to the fiber end pieces, which are about one-half inch thick. The end piece I is provided with an opening 10 and the end piece 8 similarly provided with an opening to. Enclosed entirely within the housing is an insulating block carried 15 on a metal bridge estending over the opening 1c.

v In this blockare mounted Jack springs ill and II having their front ends extending forward into openings to and 8b in the front end piece 8, in position to engage the plugs 16b and lie: on the 20 iron when the latter is in resting position on the resting plate. The rear ends of the jack springs as stated extend through the insulating block in the openings 11: and 111 (see Fig. 4), which receive the terminals of the plug 9 connected by 35 a suitable cord with a source of electrical supply. Adapted to rest upon the ironing board as shown in Figs. 1, 2, 3 and 4 and carrying the housing on one end and adapted to receive and carry the iron on the front end is the resting plate 4 which 30 is covered as to the end which receivesthe iron with a sheet of asbestos or equivalent heat insulating material 5, beveled off at its front edge 13 to permit easy sliding on and oil of theiron I, as clearly shown in Figs. 1 and 2. The plate I may conveniently .be made of stainless \iron sheet metal of o. 16 gauge about six inches wide and eleven inch long. This plate carrying all the other parts is held to the ironing board by means of a clamp ll provided with a thumb screw No and projecting studs a. and Nb on its upper face which engage in registering openings inthe rear end of the rest plate 4 beneath the bridge which carries the insulating plug in the housini.

During the use of the iron the opening to is left unstopped so that there may be free ventilation through it and the'opening lc to cool the parts Fig. 5 is a diagram showing the electrical con-, j

between heating periods. When the iron is on the resting plate, however, the rear end 0! the heating 50 plate 2, as shownin Fig. 1, engages the edges of. and completely closes, the opening 8. By this means, heat is conserved while the current is on, with a resultant substantial saving in current. Jinordertorendertheeconomymoremarkedand g also to protect the iron from overheating, I provide a thermostat ll which I locate as near as possible to the heel of the iron when in the position shown in Fig. 1. As a matter of convenience,- in the drawings the thermostat is shown to one side of and extending above the lack springs ii, but it should be clearly understood that the actual location of the thermostat may be beneath the spring or elsewhere to make close contact with the heel of the iron. To this extent. the showing in Figs. 1 and 5 is diagrammatic.

For the purpose of guiding the iron over the insulating sheet 5 so that its plugs Ma and I8!) will automatically engage with the Jack springs II and II through the openings Ba and 8b in the end plate 8, and also for the purpose of holding down the asbestos sheet 5, I provide two metal guides and clamps l2. These are not shown in Fig. 1 which is partly in section, but they are clearly shown in Figs. 2. 3, and i.

In addition to the jack springs and the thermostat I locate within the housing a pair of resistors I! which are included as shown in Fig. 5 in circuit with the long Jack springs it. As these are the first to make contact with the plugs Ila and lib on the iron, the initial circuit when the iron is pushed on the resting plate will be through the resistors which thus take up the initial surge ofcurrent as well as the formation of a destructive are when the iron is slid ofl.

The circuit diagram of the iron and associated apparatus is shown in Fig. 5. Here the heating element 3 is shown as composed of resistance wires ll terminating at their ends in the plugs Ila and "lb. The housing and the parts therein it is thought can be clearly understood as to their electrical connections from the previous description and the drawings. The following details however may be found useful in practicing the invention: I make use of a standard type of the latest modern cord electric iron used with changes described in the contact parts. The cord and connection arechanged and the plug and cord on the iron are removed. lia and Ill: are well insulated heavy copper or brass terminal lugs and contact points. They are of great current carrying capacity, thus helping to reduce flashing when contacts are made and broken. .The heating element I! may be of any suitable resist ance. The best known to me at the present time and for my purposes is as follows:

110 volt-heating element hot-20.4 ohms ilO volt-heating element cold-19.3 ohms 220 volt-heating element hot81. 6 ohms 220 volt-heating element cold-73.8 ohms The resistors I! may be 40 ohms or more in resistance. They are wound to sumcient capacity No. 28 B I: 8 gauge to temporarily carry current of 110 volts and 600 watts, or approximately 5% amperes.

The iacksprings Ill and II are of about No. 1.8 B h 8 gauge, brass spring metal, long and flexible. The operationof my device is as follows: When the iron is moved backward on to the plate I and the asbestos i as indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 2, the terminals Ila and lib start to engage thejacksprings llandlLtheflrstcontactbeing' Jack spring I0 and its resistor l5 to the cord plug 9 and back to the electric light circuit. As the iron reaches its final position to be heated as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the plugs lGa and lib make contact with springs ll whereby the resistors i5 are shunted out of circuit. Current then flows through theresistance element i1 until the temperature of the iron has reached the predetermined maximum to which the thermostat ill is set. At this point, the thermostat operates to open the energizing circuit. The heat induced in the iron and in the parts within the housing is conserved because the opening AC is closed by the heel of the iron as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. I! the iron cools to below the working temperature before being taken again for use, the thermostat will again close to reheat the iron. Thus the whole action of the apparatus is automatic besides being free from all risk 01 overheating or damaging either the ironing'board or the appara tus itself. It should be well noted in addition, that the design and construction of the housing and of the iron itself are such as to protect the hands 01' the operator at all times and to protect the iron and other parts from any loss of heat. I assume that by the use of this apparatus I increase the output of work and decrease the amount of current required by a similar percentage. The iron is never lifted by the operator.

The iron easily slides on and oil of the heat insu-- latedplate to and from the ironing board. The plate is provided with a connection socket; the act of sliding the iron on the heat insulated plate automatically connects the heat element with the electric current, without any effort on the part of the ironer or the use of switches. with each rest plate is furnished a standard cord and plug that is not in any way subject to wear or hard usage, being independent of the iron and the irons movements-it will give: a lifetime service. The rest plate is simple and. durable in construction, making it practically indestructible. It is made of metal that will not rust or show wear and it can be attached and readily detached from the ironing board. k

I claim:

1. In combination, a hand iron containing an electrical heating element, a heel having terminal plugs for said element, a fixed housing having a wall provided with terminal devices adapted to receivev said plugs and to be connected to a supply circuit, said wall having an opening adapted to be closed by said heel when the plugs and the terminal devices are connected, and thermostatic means in the housing adapted to open the circuit at a predetermined temperature.

2. The combination claimed in claim 1, in which the housing is provided with another wall having an opening whereby when the iron is removed from the housing alter a period of heating the interior oi the housing cools rapidly and the thermostatic means quickly restores the circuit to closed condition.

3. The combination claimed in claim 1, including multiple terminal devices in the housing with which the plugs of the iron are adapted to contact asynchronously, and including resistance means in the circuit first completed adapted to be shunted out upon completion of the second circuit, the housing terminals and the plugs on the iron being so arranged that the heel of the iron closes the opening in the housing only when the second circuit is completed. I

4. The combination of an iron containing within it an electrical heating element with a pair of 1s terminal plugs for said heating element mounted on and insulated from the heel oi the iron, a stand for said iron, a housing on said stand, power circuit terminals mounted on said housing and two pairs of terminals adapted to receive the said plugs on the iron, said terminals being arranged so that the plugs will engage first one pair and then the other pair when the iron is placed on the stand, and conversely will disengage from one pair before the other when the iron is removed from the stand, both or said pairs of terminals connected serially to the power terminal on the housing, and resistance included in the circuit between the power terminals and the pair of contacts which are first engaged in closing and last engaged in opening the heating circuit on the iron in removing the same from the stand.

STANLEY ALEXANDER DUVALL. 

